Hi About me: I am a 33 year old single male in the south jersey area. I work remotely as a software engineer, I currently make $105k / year. I have $80k liquid in CDs and savings accounts in the bank and a credit scor...

Starting out I would suggest Detroit(metro area as well), I can help OR Cleveland.

Temple is not part of the Austin metro area, but within a long commute range for a few.

The nearest metro is 45-1 hour away and this property wont qualify for that region

They actually have pretty limited reach as of now and focus primarily on major metro areas.

I would look for a side by side duplex in a Midwest metro that either has a strong plan B(long term) or can rent one side LTR and one side STR. 

Here’s our OPINION for the Metro Detroit market (use as a template for your target area!)

My market is a tertiary market so not a large metro and not a vacation market.

As Pari said, you can learn notes and earn more than that, or if you want mailbox money and do no work, JV with a note investor and you can get 12%+ and your money is not tied up for years but on average 12-18 months (or less) depending on the deal. 

You can also do a double close if the agent or the seller is against wholesaling.Double close is a process where you first close as a buyer and turn around and close as a seller, typically within 24 hours.I am in metro detroit too.